<span style="color: #222222;">NCP president Sharad Pawar has dismissed speculation that his party is likely to merge with the Congress. Speaking at a party meeting in Mumbai, Mr Pawar said the NCP has its own identity and it will maintain it. </span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">The meeting was held yesterday to discuss the Lok Sabha results and review preparations for the Maharashtra Assembly polls. </span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">The speculation about a possible merger had begun after Congress chief Rahul Gandhi met Mr Pawar in Delhi after the Lok Sabha results. </span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">Senior NCP leader Ganesh Naik told reporters that a constituency-wise review was conducted in the party meeting. He said, many NCP candidates spoke about how the Prakash Ambedkar-led Vanchit Bahujan Agadhi (VBA) ate into their votes. </span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">Mr Naik said, there was no discussion on the inclusion of Raj Thackeray's MNS in the alliance for Maharashtra assembly polls.</span>